Heather in FL

This was a sweet homecoming/reunited love story. Nadya is part Roma. Her mother got pregnant at 16 (unmarried) and her family threw her out. Nadya's father didn't take direct responsibility for her, so she grew up the only child of a woman people simultaneously castigated and feared. If anything went wrong in the town, anything went missing, they always looked to Tala because of her "Gypsy blood". Sure, there were good people in the town, but the bad moments stood out more in Nadya's memories. Especially the last one where she and her mom were basically run out of town. But she fondly remembered J.T., the son of the preacher we find out later was fooling around with Nadya's mom. J.T. was going into the armed forces so he could get out of the small town.

So Nadya's mom has passed away, and Nadya is called back to town to deal with some estate business. Turns out it's her father's estate, not her mother's estate. She never knew who her father was and never expected anything from him. Doesn't want anything now. And while she's figuring out how to deal with that, she's also reconnecting with her best friend, Mary Ellen, and rekindling the romance with J.T. that was cut short by her and her mother's unexpected departure twelve years earlier. J.T. returned to the small town and became one of their police force. On top of all this, Nadya must deal with intimidation, the reasons for which elude Nadya.

I really enjoyed J.T. and Nadya's relationship sort of picking up right where it left off. There was chemistry galore. I also liked that her best friend was willing to overlook many years of silence. I guess it was a testament to their strong friendship. I loved that Mary Ellen was still willing to buck the establishment to be Nadya's friend and that many others had none of the prejudice that Nadya had expected to still find there. That's not to say all the assholes were gone, but it made Nadya begin to remember that it wasn't all bad when she had lived there.

What I didn't like was the intimidation and how that was resolved. It just seemed like the resolution was just too quick. We sort of knew who the perpetrator was and why, but it was just like -- there, that's it! Oh, it's over. Um, OK.

Anyway, it was a sweet story, and I did enjoy it.